Electric and natural gas utilities could reap substantial rewards by investing in or otherwise encouraging new combined heat and power (CHP) systems in their service territories. The benefits of CH…
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Electric and natural gas utilities could reap substantial rewards by investing in or otherwise encouraging new combined heat and power (CHP) systems in their service territories. The benefits of CHP to individual facilities are well-known, but those benefits are likely less compelling than the benefits that confer to the utility systems in which the CHP project is located.
This report summarizes the major benefits that CHP offers to utilities and explores how those benefits are currently being valued today. It identifies utilities that have actively sought to encourage new CHP in their service territories and considers the policies that have helped these utilities view CHP more favorably than in the past.
This report includes suggested policy and regulatory changes, and describes some of the major issues policymakers should consider when exploring CHP opportunities at the utility scale.
Expanded utility-funded energy efficiency programs can significantly slow rising electricity demand and reduce electricity bills; this report explains how.
This paper highlights a central lesson for policymakers: Industrial innovation requires alignment across government programs (grants, procurement), financing mechanisms (tax credits, loans), and institutional capacity. When these three are backed by sustained commitment from the public sector, private industry, and external stakeholders, the transition from demonstration to deployment becomes viable.
Utility energy efficiency programs have increased investment in low-income households, but significant gaps remain. This report examines spending and savings trends across 48 major U.S. utilities, identifies barriers to expanding low-income programs and highlights policies and program strategies that can improve energy affordability and equitable access to efficiency upgrades.
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